Michelle Lukman

Victoria

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

One of MasterChef’s youngest contestant’s this year, Michelle is vying for the title of Dessert Queen, wowing the Judges at auditions with her Golden Chocolate Ball.

Born in Bandung, Indonesia, Michelle was just 11 when together with her parents and younger sister Maureen, they relocated to Melbourne to be with her great-grandmother. Settling in Box Hill, Michelle excelled in high school, describing herself as a diligent, dedicated and hard working student.

After graduating from high school Michelle commenced a Nutrition and Food Technology degree.

Growing up, Michelle loved to watch her grandmother and mother cooking traditional Indonesian food in the kitchen, but says her real cooking love has developed as she’s uncovered her sweet tooth.

Passionate about health and fitness, Michelle hits the gym most days and does well not to overindulge on her own beautiful desserts and sweets, which she considers her speciality. Her love of creating beautifully intricate sweet foods has led to a dream to one day open her own dessert bar and café she hopes to name Mishpattiserie.

Shy at times, make no mistake that this quietly competitive cook is a force to be reckoned with, excelling at multitasking and technique. Michelle loves to make extravagant layer cakes and working with different types of chocolate to make sweets and desserts for family and friends. Largely self-taught through YouTube videos, Michelle says she’s inspired by chocolate queen Kirsten Tibballs. She also admires the work of Adriano Zumbo, and loves watching Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal, who she loves for creating food with history and reasoning behind it.

Michelle says one of her greatest food moments to date is creating an eight-tier cake for her cousins 21st birthday.

Outside of the kitchen Michele is very close to her family, and loves to eat out at Melbourne’s cafes and restaurants. She also loves to play futsal with friends, head to the gym, and compose music on the piano.